Trump's latest travel ban blocked

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump's latest bid to impose travel restrictions on citizens from eight countries entering the US has suffered a court defeat.

A federal judge slapped a temporary restraining order on the open-ended ban before it could take effect this week.

The policy targets Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, as well as some Venezuelan officials.

Previous iterations of the ban targeted six Muslim-majority countries, and were widely referred to as a "Muslim ban".

The state of Hawaii sued in Honolulu to block Mr Trump's third version, which was set to go into effect early on Wednesday.

Hawaii argued in court documents that the revised policy was fulfilling Mr Trump's campaign promise for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States", despite the addition of North Korea and Venezuela.

It also argued the president did not have the powers under federal immigration law to impose such restrictions.

US District Judge Derrick Watson, who blocked Mr Trump's last travel ban in March, issued the new restraining order.

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